[Digital Report] Concerns over Year-end and New Year's Traffic Disruption...The railway union and the subway go on a "general strike."

The National Railroad Workers' Union has been on hiatus since the 18th, demanding the addition of insufficient personnel, the shift of work to two shifts of four groups, and a 2.5% increase in basic salary.

The trains that are experiencing disruption include some sections of subway lines 1, 3, and 4 in the Seoul metropolitan area and Suin-Bundang lines.

The reason they are entering the job market is that there is a large difference of opinion on labor standards on the part of labor and management.

The railway union claimed, "Korail is choosing to outsource its dangerous work as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance pushes to reduce the number of employees by 1,566 despite Korail's severe shortage of manpower."

The union insisted that the minimum safety issues should not be handed over to the private sector. On the other hand, the management argued that it was considering various issues related to management in general.

If this is not carried out, the union plans to hold an indefinite general strike early next month after a press conference announcing a general strike on the 21st.

Korail's tally shows that the railway union has been working more than once a year for four years from 2019 to last year, a total of 170 days.

Not only
but also the Seoul Transportation Corporation's union, which operates Seoul Subway Line 1 to Line 8, announced that it will go on a general strike on the 6th of next month. We held a press conference this morning on specific plans for a general strike.

The union cites labor restructuring and wage increases as reasons for wage and collective agreements, or wage and collective bargaining.

At the same time, he urged the withdrawal of restructuring, normalization of manpower operations, suspension of the introduction of the single-person crew system, prevention of industrial accidents and establishment of fundamental measures, and resolution of unfair wage cuts.

The union also voted 71% for and against the strike, securing legal right to dispute.

As a result, the union decided to take collective action, such as compliance with the law, compliance with the work of a group of two, and refusal to work outside of the inspection set forth in the regulations, starting on the 20th.

The union set the 15 days as the Maginot Line for dialogue before and after the signing of the mandatory maintenance agreement, saying it would go on a general strike on December 6 if the corporation does not change its position by then.

If the
strike materializes, it will be the third consecutive year of strikes, coinciding with an indefinite general strike announced by the National Railroad Workers' Union early next month.

Concerns over transportation disruptions in the Seoul metropolitan area are also growing ahead of the year-end and New Year holidays.

In response, the corporation said it will do its best to negotiate as much time as there is before the strike so that there will be no inconvenience to citizens.


Director: Park In-sik (ispark@ytn.co.kr )
Produced by Lee Soo-jin (tnwlss225@ytn.co.kr )